More Than Anything
by Lavellia
Summary: [AU] [AsuCaga] She gave up love for his happiness. He's giving up everything just to be with her.
1. Chapter 1

**More Than Anything**

[AU] [Athrun x Cagalli] She gave up love for him to be happy. He's giving up everything just to be with her.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or Gundam SEED Destiny.

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**Chapter One**

'_Darn, I hope I'm not too late…_' Shooting her wristwatch a quick glance, she wondered why on Earth and PLANTs they decided to choose a place so far away from her office. '_The food better be good. And I better not be paying_.'

To her relief, the café was not that much further. She brushed a few strands of her blonde hair out of her eyes and straightened up.

To her misfortune, however, she caught sight of a brunette sitting alone at one of the patio tables, calmly gazing off into the distant skies.

She sighed, disappointed with herself. This was not the first time she had kept him waiting. How he had the patience to deal with her at all completely astounded her, considering it has already been almost 25 years.

'_But then again_,' she thought, '_siblings have to deal with this kind of thing. It's like, a sibling thing…_' "Kira!"

The brunette, her brother, turned his head towards her at the sound of her voice, at the calling of his name. "Cagalli."

She loved this man, she knew. Always, without fail, he greeted her with that same ol' smile she's always known, always lived with, and always cherished. Never mind the fact that he was older now, more mature, and having suffered pains Cagalli wish he never had to go through.

"I'm sorry I'm late, office things, as usual…" she gave him a meek smile, and her heart nearly soared at the chuckle he offered in return.

"Come here, it's been too long." They closed the distance between them, and she clung to him, taking in the familiar scent, so similar to her own, of her twin.

She wished that she could see him more often. It was difficult enough, having to live on her own after he got engaged to her best friend. It was difficult enough even _before_ that, her working schedule making it nearly impossible to eat a single meal with him.

She wished she could say things have changed, but she knew she was lying to herself.

And once again, being his considerate and sweet self, he did not pull away from her, even after several minutes had elapsed.

Things weren't easy for him either, Cagalli knew. She wasn't the only busy one, and she knew he didn't want her to blame herself.

In times like these, they cherished the sibling bond between them like a lifeline, clinging on for safely and reassurance.

Finally, Cagalli was the one to pull away. "How's Lacus?"

He offered her a chair. "She's fine. She's trying to keep Meer from totally wreaking havoc on her name and company, and goodness knows _that's_ a tiring job." Cagalli laughed, recalling her best friend's cousin.

"I envy Lacus for her unlimited patience," she said as she picked up the menu, "I probably would have punched Meer by now and told her to get her own look."

Giving her that '_oh you_' smile of his that he usually reserved for his sister, he shook his head amusedly. "There's a reason you don't have a cousin, or anyone for that matter, impersonating you."

"Hey!" She stuck his tongue out at him, and shifted her attention back to the menu.

After they ordered, they chatted for a bit. Kira inquired after Miriallia, their close childhood friend who lived close to Cagalli, and laughed appropriately when she told him about their friend's troubled relationship. Cagalli asked about his own company, and he jokingly said he was considering turning it into a funeral home instead because of all the work he had to deal with.

When their food arrived, Cagalli dug in immediately (how could anyone say no to cake? And coffee?), while Kira dug out a couple of folders.

She immediately zeroed in the manila folders. "Oh no."

"Now, Cagalli…" there was no remorse or regret in his voice or expression as he handed them to her. Grudgingly, she accepted them while wondering if she could get away with spilling her coffee on them.

And of course, Kira would take her coffee away from her and steal a sip. Or a gulp. That evil twerp.

Ignoring the steely glint in her eyes, he said, "Look, I actually took the time to look through them this time, give one or two of them a chance, will you?"

"Kira, for the last time, I am _not_ interested in another matchmaking session. Why are you even setting me up on dates?" She gave him a heated glare, sudden anger slowly making its way into her voice.

"You're 25, almost 30, Cagalli, with no love life whatsoever. I wouldn't interfere, you know that." He ignored her disapproving gaze and continued, "I know you're not happy right now. I just want to help."

His twin rolled her eyes. "Doesn't change the fact that you_, _my brother plus setting me up for matchmaking sessions equals Weird with a capital w."

"Are you actually interested in girls? I wouldn't mind, you know that. Have I been setting you up with the wrong gender?"

"For the love of— Kira, I swear, if you do not stop sending your own sister to meet potential marriage partners, I will show Lacus your stash of fanboyism."

"You would not."

"Try me."

Kira sighed. "At least give them a look over, please?"

She responded with a sigh of her own, and opened one of the folders bitterly. Her eyes fell upon light blue hair, a boy-ish face, and huge teal eyes. "Kira, I'm not a pedophile."

He sent her a '_are you kidding me_' look. "Mr. Neider's 22, he's not that much younger than you are. He's the heir to an engineering company, and quite a popular basketball player."

"He's too young," she insisted. "Too innocent." Flipping over to the next page, she nearly fell off her chair laughing. "Really, Kira? Shinn? Isn't he dating Lunamaria?"

This time, it was a '_who do you think I am_' look. "They broke up two months ago. He's single and already beginning to mingle."

"I am _not_ dating this jerk with anger management issues."

"Next one, then."

"Kira, I told you Shiho has dibs on Yzak!"

"They're still not together? Next one."

She shot him another glare before opening the next one.

- _an hour later_ –

"Remember, try not to be late for the meeting, alright?" Kira held his arms out for a hug, one that Cagalli reluctantly gave him. "Shinn may have anger management issues but you don't need to poke the sleeping dragon, alright?

"Fine, fine. But you're paying next time," she warned him.

To her dismay, it seemed that the only one she was even remotely okay with having an arranged meeting with was Shinn, who worked at Kira's security company. Knowing that Kira would not let her go without choosing one of them, she decided she might as well choose one she actually knew and could even have some fun with.

Unfortunately, that left her with the only option of Shinn Asuka.

_And _she had to pay for the meal.

Hearing her brother call Shinn up to settle things was even more embarrassing.

"Saturday, 8 pm, at _Butterfly_, alright?" She nodded glumly in response. "I'll see you soon, Cagalli, alright? And try not to kill poor Shinn, he's actually a valuable worker."

"You better!" She threw him a playful pout. "Don't worry, I'll just send you one of my own."

And just like that, with one last hug, each left the café, back to their individual lives that left hardly any time for their own siblings.

* * *

"Ms. Hibiki, can you check this before we proceed with testing_?_" "They said they were unwilling to sign, what should I do?" "Can I have an early leave? My wife…"

Every day, it was like this. Managing a hospital was exhausting, and she wondered why she even bothered. This should have been Kira's job, not hers.

Her employees, doctors and nurses and researchers alike, always sought her out when really, they could just report to the head of their respective operations. Kira had said she always had charisma, and that they just wanted to be closer to their CEO, but Cagalli felt like she was being tested constantly.

It made sense, though, and she understood completely. She was only 25, didn't even have a medical degree, and she was running this establishment that her parents left her,

Although one would think that after 8 years of smooth sailings, they would have learned to trust the hospital CEO by now.

"Send a copy of that document to me, I'll review it later. Call them again, inform them that this is their last chance and if they don't take it, they can forget having any relations with Hibiki Hospital in the future. Yes, you may have an early leave, say hello to your wife for me." She wasn't even able to reach her own office yet, and here she was, being bombarded by people who didn't trust her.

Of course, a lot of the smooth sailings were thanks to Uzumi and Kisaka, family friends and second in command and third command, respectively, of the hospital.

Cagalli knew she could trust them; not once did they question her judgement or decisions, and only offered possible alternatives when possible. They left the decision making to her and advised her when she first began the job after her parents died in the accident.

"Kisaka, update me on my schedule for this week?" Finally reaching her office, she spared the older man a quick nod and slipped inside. "I know I have that news conference about the diabetic treatment on Friday…"

"That, and just a few meetings throughout the week. I'll send it to your phone," replied Kisaka, his fingers dashing about his tablet. "Uzumi said he would be willing to go over some brief points in preparation for the news conference, if you wish to."

Cagalli nodded absently, already focused on the documents lying on her desk. "Will do… can you call Shiho here for me?"

"As you wish." With that, Kisaka left the office.

After scribbling her messy signature on some documents, there was a light knock on the door. "Shiho? Is that you?"

"Can I come in, Ms. Hibiki?" There was the soft sound of snickering from the other side of the door and Cagalli resisted the urge to throw her stapler at the door.

"Yes you may, Ms. Hahnenfuss, and try not to let the door hit you," she replied sarcastically. "On second thought, please do let the door hit you on your way in."

Shiho rolled her eyes as she came in. "No need to be mean, Cagalli, I was only being polite."

"Try being any more polite and I might just politely demote you."

"Hey, that's not fair! Abuse of power!" Shiho cried dramatically, pointing accusingly to her friend. "I demand a trial for wrongful termination!"

"Oh, get out, will you? I'm not even firing you! Stop watching so much TV!" Unable to contain her laughter, the blonde CEO almost collapsed out of her chair.

The brunette stuck her tongue out childishly, before sitting in the chair in front of the CEO's desk. "So, president, why am I here?"

Clearing her throat, Cagalli stared at her close friend very seriously. "I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, Shiho…" she watched her friend tense up suddenly in worry and anxiety, "but… you need to make a move on Yzak, and fast."

"Say what?" The amber-eyed blonde had to keep herself from bursting out in hysterics at her friend's look of disbelief. "Excuse me?"

"I had lunch with Kira earlier, and you know how he is…"

"Insists on being his sister's matchmaker?"

"And y'know, giving me a list of awful men as usual… can you believe it? I have a date on Saturday with Shinn! Shinn Asuka!"

"Wait, that little knob? Wasn't he dating Lunamaria? WAIT, is that why she came crying to me like two months ago?"

"I didn't even know," Cagalli replied faintly. Lunamaria Hawke and Shinn Asuka had been dating all throughout high school, Shiho and Cagalli having met them when the couple were two grades below them. "Out of all the couples from high school, aside from Kira and Lacus, I thought they were definitely going to last."

Shiho gave her a pitying look, one that Cagalli refused to acknowledge. "I guess that explains why she didn't tell me why she moped – and is probably still moping – then, it's pretty hard news to tell everyone…" Staring thoughtfully out the window, she asked, "Wait, then why are you going on a date with him? You know Luna will probably take offense to that…"

"Shiho, of course I'm not interested in Shinn, I just needed to choose the least offensive person on the list – and that brings me to why I called you in; Yzak was on that list of candidates Kira offered me."

"Say that again?" Shiho snapped, her mouth dropping wide open. "Yzak was on the list?"

"Of course I said absolutely not, but Shiho, I thought you were going to ask him out like, last month?"

"Oh man, I tried, you have no idea…"

After half an hour whining about their unsettling lack of love lives, Shiho stood up, shaking her head.

"He's just way too dense, I'm beginning to wonder if he's gay for Dearka or something."

"No way," Cagalli disagreed, "and anyways, Dearka's totally taken by Miriallia."

"Well, then, he must be really, really, thick-headed," Shiho responded glumly. "I'm so tempted to just show up at his house naked, maybe then he'll actually notice me. Anyways, I've got to get back to work. Drinking sometime soon?"

Chortling to herself quietly, Cagalli made a sound of consent and watched her high school friend walk out. '_Poor Shiho'_, she thought to herself, '_she's practically throwing herself at the man and he remains the brick wall he's always been._' Shaking her head, she returned to the documents that begged for her attention.

* * *

"How was Cagalli?" Kira turned away from the outside view of his office, to the pink-haired owner of the melodious voice.

"It was nice." A small smile graced his lips as he walked towards his girlfriend of nearly 8 years. "Just the usual shenanigans, matchmaking, you know."

Lacus suppressed a small giggle, snuggling into his chest as he embraced her. "Why you still insist on finding your sister's love for her is still lost on me."

"Not you too!" Kira exclaimed, pouting at her. "At this rate, she'll be single for life!"

"She – and we – are only 25, Kira," replied the pink-haired princess. "She's still young, and you know how busy she gets with running Hibiki Hospital. Let her find love on her own."

Kira's lips settled into a grim line. "She won't. You know she won't."

Lacus knew. It had not been a good time for anyone. That tragic day Via and Ulen Hibiki were killed in the car accident when they were in high school still marked the saddest Lacus had ever seen her love.

Both Cagalli and Kira were in school, and upon being called to the office, didn't return back to classes until nearly two weeks later. Lacus didn't even find out from either of the twins; the tragedy was covered in the news.

It also marked the time Kira and Cagalli had been most distant from one another, the one time they got into a serious fight that left both sides unwilling to talk to one another. Lacus never found out what it was, but she knew that Kira never really got over the fight.

"It's been 8 years," she murmured, "of course she wouldn't get over it so soon…"

Her violet-eyed partner sighed, looking away. "She's too stubborn."

Laughing softly, Lacus leaned her head on his shoulder. "Sounds like a certain twin of hers I know…"

He was about to retort when there was suddenly a knock on the door. "Come in."

Meyrin Hawke suddenly came in, holding a bunch of documents in her arms. "Hi Kira, hi Lacus! Sorry for interrupting," she added, blushing as she saw her boss and Lacus in a rather sweet and cuddly position, "I just wanted to drop these off before I left for the day…"

Kira chuckled at his secretary's red face, almost matching her red hair. "It's alright, Meyrin. You can leave them on the desk," he said, nodding at the desk beside him.

"There's also a letter for the two of you," the secretary eyes' were downcast, a slight blush on her cheeks.

Curious, Lacus took the offered letter, glancing at the sender. Silent shock echoed on Kira's and Lacus' faces as they took in the highly decorative envelope and the name of the sender.

"Wha- Meyrin, ho—" Kira's stammering was swiftly interrupted by Lacus.

"Congratulations, Meyrin! I didn't even realize he had proposed!" The red-head was suddenly engulfed with a hug from the singer. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thank you," she whispered softly, "I-I didn't know… if you two would have been willing to receive this invitation or not," she continued, "but you two are my friends, and his as well, I know, so… I snuck this out to you two without him noticing."

Lacus' eyes quickly found her boyfriend's. There was still shock, and bitterness, and other feelings she couldn't quite discern at the moment. "No, thank you, Meyrin," responded Lacus, her expression open and practically radiant with joy for her friend. "I'll check the date, but I will definitely let you know as soon as possible."

Grateful light blue eyes sought Lacus' own. "Thank you! I'll be going now," she said, turning around to leave.

However, she stopped suddenly, looking down at something else she held in her hand, and faced the couple again. "Um… if possible, if it wouldn't be too much trouble… could you give this invitation to Cagalli as well?"

Lacus could feel her boyfriend freezing, and the room freezing right along with it. "I'll take that, thank you." She didn't dare look back at the brunette, whose fists she was sure were clenched.

"H-he said that he wanted to give her one, even when I said she wouldn't want to come…" There was visible anxiety in the younger girl's expression, and Lacus wished she could comfort her, but in front of Kira…

"Don't worry about it," she soothed the red-head gently, "I'll definitely pass it onto her, although I make no guarantees her decision…"

"That's all I ask for," replied Meyrin, bowing slightly. "I'll see you later, Kira. Have a good evening, you two!"

And with that, she left the room, leaving a seething Kira and a rather worried Lacus. "We are not going."

Lacus shot him a disapproving look. "I know you may not be happy about their marriage, but you can't let your own biases ruin your friendship with him." Her eyes softened as she saw how frustrated he was. "He's your best friend, Kira, even if that friendship has become nothing more than a few letters and phone calls."

"I can't, okay? My sister's happiness means more to me than his happiness, and currently my sister's happiness is at a fat level of 0; non-existent." His usually warm and welcoming violet eyes went dark, his face contorted into an expression of anger. "He's the one getting married, he's found his happiness. My sister probably never will. How can I go?"

She had nothing to say. She didn't know how to comfort him in times like these, and thankfully they were few. Dropping the invitation on the table, she just hugged him, rubbing his back and whispering soft, comforting words in his ear.

The card sat on the table, abandoned, but the name of the senders filled the room with a mixed atmosphere.

_Athrun Zala and Meyrin Hawke._

_We're Getting Married!_

* * *

I've been a huge fan of Athrun and Cagalli (as characters and as a couple) and pretty much the series itself. It's been like, 8 years since I first watched Gundam SEED and even though I've found new fandoms and fallen in love with new characters, Athrun and Cagalli and the other characters will always have a special place in my heart. I don't know how I found myself in the fandom again (maybe news of the remasterings) but here is a story!

Let me know what you think? 8D

Lavellia.


	2. Chapter 2

**More Than Anything**

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Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or Gundam SEED Destiny.

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**Chapter Two**

If Cagalli could only choose one thing she'd rather not deal with, it might be high school gossip.

ORB was big, but not big enough to escape the gossip vine; heck, she was next door neighbours with a couple of classmates who chose to live together.

She's heard many things, mostly about scandalous affairs and issues, the occasional drinking and/or gambling problem, and even the odd sexual deviancies. Truthfully, though? She didn't really mind the gossip so long it wasn't about her.

Standing at the grocery store after work, she found herself staring at the face of one of her former classmates, Heine Westenfluss, his hair as flamboyantly orange as ever.

"Cagalli!"

'_Oh no, someone save me now please._' "Heine, it's been a while."

He flashed her an easy smile. "It really has been! I didn't see you at the reunion, were you there?"

Heine was a friend of her friends, but she never really got to know him very well. Fortunately, he seemed to be quite easy to talk to and didn't seem particularly fond of bringing up difficult topics for her. "No, I'm afraid not. Work duties, you know," she sighed, shaking her head. "How have you been?"

"I get you," he let out a sigh of his own, "been working awful 12 hours pretty much every day… and on top of that, I have to make sure Meer doesn't wreak havoc everywhere she goes…"

Cagalli winced. She knew that Heine and Meer were good friends in high school, and it seemed to her that there was definitely some interest on Heine's behalf… though she was pretty sure it was one-sided. "Are you two a thing now, then?"

Heine laughed at this, shaking his head no. "We're just good friends, as we have been, and we live next door to one another. I kind of have to check up on her every so often to make sure she hasn't gone off the deep end."

"But I guess there's still a little something-something there, eh?" Cagalli winked at him, not missing the faint blush that crossed his cheeks.

"Well… maybe," he confessed, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm not sure, really, but I know at the very least she's very dear to me."

A sudden twinge of envy hit the blonde. '_At least you have someone to care for…_' "That's… very sweet of you," she murmured, "I hope it goes well, whatever path it takes."

His lips twisted into a half sad, half hopeful smile. "Thank you… but enough about me! How are you? Love life going well?"

A laugh escaped her lips. "Me? I'm pretty much engaged to the hospital at this point, I don't know if I can break out of it."

Heine chuckled with her. "I feel that way between Meer and my job… but no special someone?" He asked, gazing at her intensely.

"Unfortunately, no," Cagalli looked down at her feet, avoiding his eyes. "Just a lot of matchmaking sessions set up by Kira. As a matter of fact, I have one with Shinn this weekend."

"Shinn?" That got a guffaw out of Heine. "So it's true! He broke up with maria, then?"

"According to my brother, '_single and already beginning to mingle_'."

They both laughed at this, the atmosphere considerably lighter than it was before as they began talking about their other classmates.

When Heine glanced at his watch, he nearly jumped two feet. "Oh darn, I need to go. I have to go make some food for Meer or she might just decide not to eat."

Cagalli giggled. "Take care, Heine, it was really nice talking to you again." To her own surprise, she found it was true.

"See you around, Cagalli!" She watched him leave, reflecting on their interaction. She knew he was always a rather friendly guy, and she noted it was rather refreshing to talk to someone who didn't outright ask about her past relationships. '_Probably the lack of familiarity_,' she mused.

It was just nice to talk to someone who didn't worry obsessively over her lack of a love life.

She made her way towards checkout, lost in her own thoughts.

* * *

_Torii! Torii! Torii! Torii!_

Lacus looked back at the living room table, where Kira's phone was ringing. "Kira, are you going to get that?"

There was no response from her lover, so she went ahead and picked it up. "Hello? Lacus Clyne speaking."

"Lacus? Not that I mind talking to you, but did I get the wrong number?"

"Oh! Miriallia!" She smiled at the sound of her friend's energetic voice. "He's disappeared somewhere, I'll look for him later."

"Probably buried under mountains of work," the brunette suggested, eliciting a laugh from the pink-haired songstress. "Hey, I wanted to ask, did you get the invitation?"

Lacus' laugh quickly turned into a cringe. "The wedding invitation? Meyrin delivered it yesterday. Why?"

"I didn't even know they were dating! Then I come home from work and I see '_Athrun Zala and Meyrin Hawke: WE'RE GETTING MARRIED_' sitting amongst my mail." Lacus could practically hear Miriallia rolling her eyes. "I still can't believe I didn't even hear _anything_ about this until now!"

"I knew Meyrin was dating someone," the singer sat down on her couch, straightening her dress as she thought back to when Meyrin first mentioned dating someone. "It couldn't have been more than a year ago, I think."

"She doesn't strike me as the type to jump into marriage," Miriallia thought aloud, "and Athrun? I thought if _he_ ever got engaged, it probably wouldn't be until he was like 50 or something."

Lacus suppressed a giggle at that. "He's old-fashioned – or, he was, at least. I wouldn't have thought he would get married so early either."

"You would know," agreed Miriallia. "I wonder if Kira knew."

"I don't think he did," Lacus recalled the fury on her lover's face. "He's been really upset since we got the invitation... though I don't think Meyrin's the one he's mad at."

"Meyrin's too sweet," Miriallia added.

The singer nodded her agreement. "I don't know what he's really mad about, though, but Kira hasn't seen Athrun in almost a year."

The last time they did meet, it ended rather awkwardly and Kira refused to mention what they had discussed. He came home, threw his jacket on the couch and went upstairs to sleep. Lacus knew pushing for answers wouldn't get anything out of her stubborn boyfriend, and so she kept quiet.

"Holy— Lacus, have you seen the date of their wedding?"

"Not yet," she admitted in response, wondering where on Earth Kira put the invitation. "When?"

"It's in _one_ month. 30 days. What are they thinking?"

This drew a sigh from the star. "How am I going to break the news to Kira? And not to mention Cagalli…"

"Hold your horses. _Cagalli_'s invited?"

"Meyrin asked me to pass the invitation along…"

Miriallia was silent for a while. "Not that Cagalli isn't positively _smashing_ at weddings… fond memories of what happened at Ms. Ramius – I mean, Mrs. La Flaga's wedding… but why would _Meyrin_ agree to invite her fiancé's ex-girlfriend?"

"I don't know," Lacus replied simply. "I know she hasn't even talked to them since… well, they broke up…"

"His _wedding_ sure isn't the best way for reconciliation," remarked her friend. "I'm all up for dragging her to the celebration and watching 'The Post Breakup Talk', though."

Kira suddenly walked in, his soft brown hair sticking up all over the place. "Is that my phone? Who is it?"

His girlfriend could hear Miriallia's snort. "Well, now you won't have to dig up his half-rotten body."

Lacus' soft laugh echoed throughout the room, and she mouthed '_Miriallia_' at Kira, who nodded and sank into the sat Kira, who nodded and sank into the and she mouted 'ace. ."hn Heine'very well. em, and even the odd sexual deviancies. eat beside her. "Do you want to talk to him?"

"Nah, it's okay. I have to go now, anyways; Dearka's taking me out on a date to make up for our anniversary last week. I'll talk to you guys later!"

After Lacus had said "bye", Kira leaned over and rested his head on her shoulder. "What did you two talk about?"

"Oh, just Athrun and Meyrin's wedding…" She watched his eyebrows furrow together, creating worry lines in his forehead, before he relaxed and sighed.

"I'll give Cagalli the invitation next week," he whispered, his eyes closing.

"Are you sure?" His girlfriend looked down at him, her mouth turned slightly downwards. "The wedding's in 4 weeks."

"I know." Kira sounded so exhausted. "It doesn't matter when she finds out. Knowing her, she'll go."

* * *

"Most of the reporters will be asking about the testing phase and its success," Uzumi informed her, giving her a handful of papers. "The results are in there; as you can see, the several test groups have yielded quite optimal results."

"Mm," Cagalli gave a quiet noise of assent. The conference was in two days, and she was eager to announce the results. Her researchers had gone into a manic period, desperate for the treatment to cure diabetes. After nearly 2 years of research, and 4 years of testing, it was finally ready to be sent for approval.

The treatment, Insuliphax, was the earliest projects Cagalli had reviewed and approved, and one of the oldest. Having started 2 years after she began working in the hospital, she was glad that it had progressed as far as it did.

As she read over the results, Uzumi continued. "I've drawn up a list of potential questions; see if there are any you missed in your own list."

Cagalli couldn't help but feel a wave of gratitude. Uzumi used to treat her like a child, until the day she went up to him and told him that unless he wanted a child to run the hospital, he'd better start treat her like an adult.

Since then, he treated her the way she wanted to treated, and operations ran much smoother.

"I'll go over it later. Thank you, Mr. Athha." Her gratitude was rewarded with a crinkly-eyed smile from the older man.

Half the time, she was tempted to call him 'father'. He had done so much for her, and took care of her when things got very difficult within the hospital. Uzumi was the one who made her _want_ to stay, despite the long hours and constant stress.

"I'll be leaving now. Don't push yourself too hard, you should look fresh and rejuvenated for the conference."

Cagalli laughed, waving the fatherly figure off. "Take care, Mr. Athha!"

She glanced down at the results again, trying not to let her excitement take over. In two days' time, she was going to be announcing a cure for diabetes and she could not go up squealing like a little child.

Not that she would, anyways.

_RING A DING DONG. RING A DING DONG. _(1)

Absentmindedly picking up her mobile phone, she held it to her ear. "Cagalli Yula Hibiki speaking."

"Cagalli! Drinking at the bar in an hour?"

The blonde frowned, looking at the time. It was only 4 in the afternoon, who on Earth drinks on a week day _and_ so early? "Of course you would be the one wanting to drink so early, Dearka. Who else is going?"

The other blonde hummed as he thought. "Miri, for sure, Kira, Shiho, and Yzak so far have confirmed. You up for it?"

"I can't, Dearka, sorry," she apologized, actually meaning it. She couldn't even remember the last time she went out for drinks with her friends; probably several months ago. "I have a press conference on Friday I need to prepare for."

"Exactly, it's on Friday! Please, Cags? It's been almost half a year!"

She shook her head, forgetting he couldn't see. "No, Dee, not this time. If it were Friday night, I'd be down…"

"Next time I'll call you first, then," he declared, and Cagalli could picture him with a determined expression on his tanned face. "I'll make sure you can come first before inviting everyone!"

"Why haven't you done that already?" She asked, jokingly mad.

"Sorry! Good luck with that press conference, though, I'm sure you'll ace it." The lawyer hung up, leaving Cagalli with the sound of the dialing tone.

"Of course I will," she muttered, rolling her eyes playfully before turning her attention back to the charts and papers. "Another date night with my work."

"Hibiki Hospital is very proud to announce the progress of the Insuliphax drug, which will now move forward for approval." The room broke out into applause, and Cagalli was rather proud of herself for managing to get through her speech without breaking down.

As reporters bombarded her with questions, she smiled at Uzumi and Kisaka, before turning back to her audience.

Just as the hands were settling down, she noticed a flash of blue hair. '_Wha— why is __**he**__here?__**'**_

As his hand went up, she felt her heart sink. "Yes, Mr. Zala?"

She watched him stand, feeling herself shake a little in anticipation, yet fear_. 'Why is he here? What reason could he possibly have…?'_

"Miss. Hibiki, are you aware of the several patients who, during the testing phase, suffered dire consequences? "

"What—" Cagalli glanced back at the researchers, who suddenly froze. "What do you mean, Mr. Zala?"

"One patient, whose name I shall not disclose here, unfortunately died from complications that arose after the usage of the test drug." Athrun's emerald eyes were cold, and his voice harsh. "Several others, not a small number, have also suffered from side effects… yet they were forcibly removed and their results do not show on the charts you have released."

Cagalli whirled around, about to attack her own employees when the blue-haired lawyer continued.

"My clients will be suing Hibiki Hospital for the damages incurred, and I will be representing them."

* * *

(1) From the song by Kimura Kaela, _Ring a ding dong_! :)

Lame ending to this chapter, I'm sorry. D: But it should be moving along now, now that I've gotten to the meat of the story.

Let me know if it's moving too fast or anything! Or too slow!

Lavellia.


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